I recently read an article in the Washington Post, “How new drugs helping millions of Americans live longer are also making them go broke.” It tells a story about Kristin Agar, a 63-year-old social worker from Little Rock, Arkansas who was diagnosed with lupus, a disease in which the body’s immune system mistakes its own tissues (skin, muscles, joints, kidneys, lungs, or heart) as foreign invaders and attacks them. Agar’s doctor prescribed Benlysta, the only treatment on the market specifically for lupus.

As you’ve probably already guessed, this medication is very expensive. And even though her insurance pays 80 percent of its cost, Kristin’s portion is a whopping $450 once or twice a month.

Even though she admits to making decent money, it’s easy to see why Agar says she cannot afford her treatment, especially when you take into consideration her $770 per month insurance premium and her other medical costs.

“I make too much to qualify for assistance, but I don’t make enough to pay the bills,” she says.

Escalating cost-sharing has been touted as a way to reduce health care costs. The battle cry: with ‘skin in the game’ people will ‘shop’ their healthcare. That’s hard to do when you don’t have many choices in medications or when affordable health plans have narrowing networks that don’t allow for much price ‘shopping.’

Who’s responsible for the high cost of these medications? Insurers are pointing their fingers at the pharmaceutical companies and the drug companies are pointing their fingers right back.

Robert Zirkelbach, a senior VP of Communications at PhRMA, a trade group that represents the drug industry says, “What we’re seeing in the marketplace is that insurers are requiring patients to pay an ever-growing share of the medicine costs. In fact, patients are being asked to pay a far greater percentage of the price of medicine than they’re required to pay for physicians or other medical services that my cost significantly more,”

The Washington Post article goes on to say that there are a lot of people in the United States like Kristin Agar—people with good jobs and good insurance—that have diseases like HIV, cancer, lupus, hepatitis C, or other serious conditions that are paying huge out-of-pocket amounts for necessary medications.

A survey done earlier this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 76 percent of those polled thought the top priority for the president and Congress was to make sure those needing high-cost drugs for chronic conditions could afford them.

The Washington Post article also talked about how 90 percent of the 500,000 Americans who used at least $50,000 in prescription drugs last year were taking what the medical industry calls “specialty medications” for chronic complex diseases like the ones mentioned earlier.

According to the 2014 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report, U.S. prescription drug spending increased almost 14 percent. It was the largest annual increase since 2003—mostly due to the unprecedented 31 percent increase in spending on specialty medications.

I know a lot of the increase in prescription drug spending is due to the specialty medications used to treat diseases like HIV, cancer, lupus, or hepatitis C, but what about the cost of medications for more common diseases?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there are over 29 million people in the United States with diabetes (one out of 11 people nationwide) and an additional 86 million—more than one out of three adults—who have prediabetes. And for the fourth year in a row, the Express Scripts Drug Trend Report found that medications used to treat diabetes were the most expensive traditional therapy class.

We all know that the use of generic medications is a great way to control medication costs. It makes you wonder than why insulin, a prominent treatment for millions of diabetics that has been around for decades and decades still doesn’t come in a generic form.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

Wedding authority The Knot conducts an annual Real Wedding Survey. Their 2014 study analyzed the responses of about 16,000 brides—which represents almost 80 percent of brides nationwide—and reported another increase in the cost of a wedding, national average price: $31,213.00. And if that statistic isn’t alarming enough, the survey discovered that almost 50 percent of respondents went over budget.

Even though 2014 saw an increase in the total cost of weddings, the number of guests invited decreased. And apparently the wedding itself isn’t as important as the party afterwards: the amount spent on the reception increased while expenditures for the ceremony went down.

One of the biggest changes noted over the years: the amount of brides using their smartphones to plan their wedding—it’s doubled in past three years.

The Knot’s survey breaks down the cost by category and geographical areas, and their respondents not only represent a variety of ethnicities, but educational and income levels too. Bottom line: lots of money is spent on weddings and if you are asked to participate by being a bridesmaid—you are going to be spending lots of money too.

Can you guess how much the average bridesmaid spends? There’s the dress, shoes, a gift, how much could it cost? According to The Knot’s 2010 survey, bridesmaids spent an average of $1700 for the privilege of being a part of the bride’s special day, and if you are the maid-of-honor, expect to pay more. There are actually way more expenses than the few I mentioned earlier—and they add up quickly!

The best thing you can do to control your financial outlay is to be upfront with the bride regarding your budget. I know people are uncomfortable about talking about money, but it’s far better to discuss these things upfront rather than stressing about how you’re going to pay for everything afterwards. A lot of brides are focused on the big picture and are often surprised by how much their bridesmaid actually have to spend.

If possible get involved in the planning process. Bachelorette parties have been known to escalate into huge affairs with large price tags attached. As a member of the wedding party you will be expected to pay for your share of the expenses. If this extravagance isn’t in your budget it’s important to speak up before reservations and deposits are made.

Planning early can also help. According to the survey, the average engagement time is over a year. If a girls’ trip to Vegas sounds like something you’d love to participate in, the sooner it is planned the sooner you can start saving money for it. Putting aside a little money each payday can accumulate to quite a sum when you have a year or more to save.

Another way to save money: Do it yourself. If an elaborate hair style isn’t part of the plan, doing your own hair and nails can save you about $100. Sharing a room with another bridesmaid at the wedding venue or bachelorette party can also shave money off your bottom line.

The important things is to plan an affordable budget and stick to it. That way the honor of being in your friend’s wedding won’t turn into a burden.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

I know peak home buying season is winding down, but if you are still in the hunt or you’ve just found that perfect house, knowing about ‘rapid rescore’ could really come in handy and save you a nice chunk of change.

Let’s say you are applying for a mortgage, and when your credit score come back it’s lower than what you and your creditor hoped it would be.

The first thing you need to know is credit scores are not stagnant numbers, they rise and fall as information is updated—sometimes this works to your benefit and other times, not so much.

Shocked by the low score, you look over your credit report and find there is a mistake. It says you are two months delinquent on your student loan—and you don’t even have a student loan. The good news is your credit score should be higher, the bad news is the credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate the dispute. And you’re thinking, 30 days! I need my corrected, higher score now!!

You loan officer also points out that you have a fairly high balance on your credit card. She says if you pay it down to below 30 percent of your credit limit you’ll get another a bump in your credit score. But again, if you make that payment and go through the normal channels, it could take 6-8 weeks before you see the improvement to your score.

Rapid rescoring is a process lenders use to get their borrowers’ accurate information updated into their credit files within a few days, rather than weeks or months. The faster timetable could get you a better interest rate and save you money on fees which could add up to some significant savings.

What rapid rescoring cannot do is repair your credit. So, the two late car payments you made last year will remain on your report—it will not erase negative information if it is accurate.

Would it have been easier to check your credit and correct any errors or pay down your balances months before applying for your mortgage? Probably. But in this fast-paced world where consumers are expecting instantaneous relief from their problems, it’s good that lenders can offer you a quick way to update your files so you can achieve your financial goals now.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.